Mobile Biometric Driver’s Licenses Coming to a State Near You

MorphoTrust (MT) is trying to convince motorists that mobile biometric driver’s licenses (MDL) are a good thing. Two years ago MT convinced the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to pilot their mobile driver’s license program.

MT wants you to download an image of your driver’s license to your smartphone and use that instead of a physical license. A KTVQ video revealed how the MT app uses facial recognition to verify an individual’s identity.

MT and the DOT claim motorists can hit a button that will allow the police to only see your license information. But what if you forget to hit the button, would the police officer have access to all your personal information?

The reasons to never use MDLs are too numerous to mention here, but an article in USA Today does a good job of addressing some of my privacy concerns.

What if drivers wish to use the phone to record their interactions with the police officer? What if they want to make a call or send a text during the traffic stop — perhaps to a lawyer? What if the phone has a lock mechanism that would lock officers out before they are able to scan the license bar code?

And what of the pitfalls inherent in storing critical data on an electronic device? What if the phone’s battery is dead — or dies in the midst of the traffic stop? What if the screen is cracked in a way that makes the bar code unreadable?

Two days ago, MorphoTrust claimed that a new study they conducted shows a majority of Americans want MDLs.

The survey polled nearly 4,000 consumers ranging in age, gender, region and income across the U.S. To qualify for the study, participants needed to own a smartphone and have a valid driver’s license or state identification card.

When a poll asks people if they would be interested in a driver’s license app, of course the majority of people will say yes.

But try rephrasing the question by asking if they would be OK with giving a police officer their phones and I’ll bet the majority of people would say no. Would you hand over your unlocked phone to a stranger and have them get in their car while you wait for them to give you the phone back? Can you be sure they will only make a phone call and not scroll through your personal information?

I sent MT an email requesting a full copy of their study and will update my story if I receive it.

It appears that the feds will go to great lengths to force MDLs on the public.

MorphoTrust’s plan to fingerprint and facially recognize everyone

A 2015 article in the State Scoop shows how MT received $1.47 million from DHS, I mean the NIST, to implement electronic IDs in North Carolina and Georgia. Also, in 2015, Senator Jeff Dial authored a bill that would require the Arizona Department of Transportation to create electronic driver’s licenses.